[blindkid] Trekking Poles (Hiking Poles) Suggestions Wanted

[Pat Renfranz]

My daughter uses trekking poles in various ways. The cane works great on
some trails, but it can get hung up in bushes, crevices etc. Many trails out
here are quite rocky and there are often drop offs; the poles work well
because she can explore more than one place at a time, say, keep a pole near
the drop off and another monitoring the next step. Sometimes, my husband or
I will hold one end of a pole and she the other--this horizontal hold works
well when the trail is steep and has lots of irregular steps. It is also
helpful for my husband to have a bell on his trekking pole-she can hear him
in front of her and he can also point out obstacles she might otherwise miss
by tapping on them. His poles are fancy ones from REI but hers I picked up
at Walmart (Swiss Army brand) pretty cheap and they work fine. Decent poles
are adjustable in height, which is helpful.
Have fun!
pat


On 10/19/12 2:11 PM, "Richard Holloway" <rholloway at gopbc.org> wrote:

> I think this came up a while back. I'm wondering what works best for hiking as
> far as finding your way with no vision on a nature walk hike etc.. I am aware
> of trekking poles or hiking poles and thinking this is the way to go for my
> daughter age 10 (no light perception).
> 
> What have others found? Got any suggestions of what works best or what to
> avoid? General guidelines or specific product references are all welcome.
> 
> My gut says to look for one piece rugged poles. As far as length I wonder if
> there is a preferred reference from users who have experimented with them.
> Even if I find some to explore in a store before we buy (as opposed to mail
> order) it isn't going to be the same as a test outing on a trail in the woods.
> 
> I know it may take more than one purchase to find the optimal solution but
> there better our starting point the better!
> 
> Thanks.
> _______________________________________________
> blindkid mailing list
> blindkid at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> blindkid:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/dblair2525%40msn.com
>